Commissioned in 1444 to the celebrated Renaissance architect Michelozzo, the Medici Palace in Florence, Italy is history’s first-ever Renaissance-style family palace. It had an original square block plan (now rectangular) and three stories with diminishing heights. Its exterior is dressed in rusticated “pietra forte” stone and articulated with biforate windows. While the outside of the building is clearly inspired by local medieval tradition, the interior courtyard is a celebration of classical architecture with its Corinthian order columns, rounded arches, elegant entablatures and classically inspired reliefs. The Medici Palace was not only the home of the family, but also the seat of their political and financial power. Buona visita!